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Six Sigma at many organizations simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.
Historical overview
he particulars of the methodology were first formulated by Bill Smith at Motorola in 1986.Six Sigma was originally developed as a set of practices designed to improve manufacturing processes and eliminate defects, but its application was subsequently extended to other types of business processes as well. In Six Sigma, a defect is defined as anything that could lead to customer dissatisfaction. Six Sigma was heavily inspired by six preceding decades of quality improvement methodologies such as quality control , T QM , and Zero Defects , based on the work of pioneers such as Shewhart , Deming , Juran , Ishikawa , T aguchi and others. Six Sigma is a registered service mark and trademark of Motorola , Inc. Motorola has reported over US$17 billion in savingsfrom Six Sigma as of 2006 . Other early adopters of Six Sigma who achieved well-publicized success include Honeywell and General Electric , where the method was introduced by Jack Welch . By the late 1990s, about twothirds of the Fortune 500 organizations had begun Six Sigma initiatives with the aim of reducing costs and improving quality. Six Sigma seeks to identify and remove the causes of defects and errors in manufacturing and business processes . It uses a set of quality management methods, including statistical methods , and creates a special infrastructure of people within the organization ("Black Belts" etc.) who are experts in these methods. Each Six Sigma project carried out within an organization follows a defined sequence of steps and has quantified financial targets (cost reduction or profit increase). he term "Six Sigma" is derived from a field of statistics known as process capability studies. Originally, it referred to the ability of manufacturing processes to produce a very high proportion of output within specification. Processes that operate with "six sigma quality" over the short term are assumed to produce long-term defect levels below 3.4 defects
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per million opportunities (DPMO). Six Sigma's implicit goal is to improve all processes to that level of quality or better.
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explore, understand, and use the data etc. to avoid this kind of circumstances from the business one should accept the six sigma methodology. Following are some of the business organization who implemented the six sigma philosophy in their business and what are the benefits they got from this implementation are as follows: 1)TSix Sigma at Motorola Motorola saved $17 Billion from 1986 to 2004, reflecting hundreds of individual successes in all Motorola business areas including: Sales and Marketing Product design Manufacturing Customer service ransactional processes Supply chain management
1)TGeneral Electric: What Is Six Sigma? In G.E six sigma means, First, what it is not. It is not a secret society, a slogan, or a clich. Six Sigma is a highly disciplined process that helps us focus on developing and delivering near-perfect products and services Saved $750 million by the end of 1998 Cut invoice defects and disputes by 98 percent, speeding payment, and creating better productivity
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Streamlined contract review process, leading to faster completion of deals and annual savings of $1 million. 1)THoneywell: six sigma plus. In Honeywell six sigma called as six sigma plus.It is one of the most potent strategies ever developed to accelerate improvements in processes, products, and services, and to radically reduce manufacturing and/or administrative costs and improve quality. It achieves this by relentlessly focusing on eliminating waste and reducing defects and variations. Initiated Six Sigma efforts in 1992 and saved more then $600 million a year by 1999. Reduced time from design to certification of new projects like aircraft engines from 42 to 33 months. Increased market value by a compounded 27% per year through fiscal year 1998.
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Many assume that that Six Sigma works for bigger companies only as they produce in volumes and have thousands of employees. This notion is not true and Six Sigma can be effectively applied for small businesses and even companies with fewer than 10 employees.
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Near Perfection
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least 2 days in a week. When he became successful in doing so he increased the two days of the week to three days and later four days and so on. hen after seeing his progress he got the results and the change was that he was finally late only for one to two days in the past month. his made his employer think about his efficiency and promotion. He found that Mr. Ramakrishna was very much a dedicated employee and so he must be a posted to a higher office. Thus implementing six sigma in his day to day life really helped Mr. Ramakrishna.
he basic method consists of the following five steps: Define: It design goals that are consistent with customer demands, enterprise strategy and identify the projects that are measurable. Also it defines that by including the demands of the customer & content of the internal process helps to develop the team charter and define the process map. Measure: It measure and identify CTQs (characteristics that are Critical To Quality), product capabilities, production process capability, and risks also define performance
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standards. To Measure current level of quality into Sigma. It precisely pinpoints the area causing problems and Identify all potential causes for such problems. Analyze: It develop and design alternatives, create a high-level design and evaluate design capability to select the best design. It also helps to establish process capability, define performance objectives & identify variation sources. here are some types for tool analysis i.e. 1) Process mapping 2) Failure mode & effect analysis 3) Statistical test 4) Design of experiment 5) Control charts 6) Quality function Deployment (QFD) Improve: It optimizes the process based upon data analysis using techniques like Design of experiments . It helps to discover variable relationships among causes and effects also establish operating tolerances and pursue a method to resolve & eliminate ultimate problems. Control: It ensure that any deviations from target are corrected before they result in defects. It set ups pilot runs to establish process capability , move on to production, set up control mechanisms and continuously monitor the process.
DMADV
he basic method consists of the following five steps: in which first three steps are same as above method i.e define, measure and analyze. DMADV is also known as DFSS, an abbreviation of "Design For Six Sigma". Define: design goals that are consistent with customer demands and the enterprise strategy. In this it also identify the projects that are measurable and also define that by including the
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demands of the customer & content of the internal process.it also helps to develop the team charter and define the process map. Measure: It measures identify CTQs (characteristics that are Critical To Quality), product capabilities, production process capability, and risks also define performance standards. To Measure current level of quality into Sigma. It precisely pinpoints the area causing problems and Identify all potential causes for such problems. Analyze: It develop and design alternatives, create a high-level design and evaluate design capability to select the best design. It also helps to establish process capability, define performance objectives & identify variation sources. here are some types for tool analysis i.e. 1) Process mapping 2) Failure mode & effect analysis 3) Statistical test 4) Design of experiment 5) Control charts 6) Quality function Deployment (QFD) Design: Its name suggest that it design the new product, Optimize the design, plan for design verification and this phase may require simulations. service or process. It use predictive models, prototypes etc. to validate the design concepts effectiveness in meeting goals. Verify: verify the design, set up pilot runs, implement the production process and hand it over to the process owners.
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owned by a person to ensure that he/ she is capable and qualified for the performance of the job. Under six sigma certification, it indicates the confirmation of a person's ability in performing specific competencies. Six sigma certification differs from other type of certifications in the sense, that other types of quality certifications ensure a person's capability in the performance of unlimited process improvement. But in the case of six sigma certification it ensures an individual's capability with respect to specified competencies Six sigma certification give importance in giving training to the appropriate subject matter, through written proficiency test. This training provides with the displaying competency in the hands of the person. Six Sigma Certification is given by the training and consulting company, who is conducting the training. The tests can be given even by the companies hiring the training programs. The tests may differ according to the training company's proficiency. Companies performing training for years have created and administrated written proficiency tests of their own. Once the certification training is completed, one must complete one or two quality projects. This is the time for the trainees to display the competency in applying the concepts learned. This part of the training differs according to the companies, and hence the quality projects are the fuzziest and the undefined part of the six sigma certification. Under six sigma certification comes three types of certifications. They are: Green belt certification Black belt certification Master black belt certification Apart from this certification there are yellow certification and lean certification. The word belt refers to the level six sigma projects to be performed. Business leaders processing six sigma through the projects are known as the champions. They are trained according to the six sigma methodology which aims at the selection of the projects that are related with business goals. hese champions are to select and monitor six sigma project leaders, who are called the "belts". Six sigma certification requires both projects and training Each belt is given different colors for the purpose their six sigma success identification. Each color represents each responsibility. This is because the aim of six sigma is not only the production of defect free projects and products, but also the fast implementation of the projects
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with out time waste. This is able when the work is divided into several parts. More over each color indicates each quality or level of skills. This identification could help the project leaders to find out the apt person for assigning the different tasks. Each color is having different task responsibilities and skills to perform. Therefore the color will also help the project leader to find out the skills and the responsibilities of the person assigned to the work. CSSGB- Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Here the six sigma green belt operators are given training to operate in the support or under the supervision of a six sigma black belt. Through this certification the person is trained to analyze and solve quality problems. This results in the quality improvement projects. The person, who had undergone the six sigma green belt certification, has at least three years of work experience in demonstrating the knowledge of six sigma tools and processes. CSSBB- Six Sigma Black Belt Certification he candidate who had undergone six sigma black belt certification is a professional who is capable in the explanation of six sigma philosophies and the principles. His knowledge also includes the supporting systems and the tools. This certification also deals with the training of the candidate in developing the demonstrating of the team leadership, understanding team dynamics and assigning team member roles and responsibilities. A six sigma black belt will be well versed will all the aspects of the DMAIC model in accordance with the six sigma principles. hese professionals have basic knowledge of lean enterprise concepts. They are capable in identifying non-value added elements and activities. They are also capable in the use of specific tools Master Black Belt Certification he professionals who had undergone the master black belt certification are considered as a six sigma quality experts and they are responsible for the strategic implementations within an organization. The training is given for the improvement of the responsibilities of a master black belt, which includes training and mentoring of black belts and the green belts. Moreover the responsibilities or the duties of a master black belt extend to the range of helping the both belts in prioritizing, selecting and charting high impact projects. Maintaining the integrity of the six sigma measurements, improvements and developing, revising six sigma training materials, qualifying or teaching the other six sigma facilitators about the
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methodologies, tools and applications in all functional areas of a company are some of the other responsibilities of a person who has completed master black belt certification. Yellow Belt Certification Six Sigma Yellow Belt certification provides with the attendees an overall insight to the use age of the six sigma techniques. This is to meet the customer's expectations and the objectives of the organization from the bottom, to its best. The certification helps the trainees to receive an idea about the introduction to the process management and the basic tools of six sigma. Strong understanding of the processes, enabling each individual to provide meaningful assistance is the other characteristics of the six sigma yellow belt certification. The aim of this certification is the achievement of the organizations overall objectives.
Lean Six Sigma Certification Lean six sigma certification provides the professionals with both techniques of service and manufacturing in industries. Along with this lean certification makes an individual attain the following requirements: Focusing how to move fast in order to accomplish the objectives within the industry. Involves in business enterprise, identifies and eliminates the activities which do not provide values to the product or to the service given to the customer. Awareness of the lean and six sigma methodology help the business enterprise in attaining a stable improvement. he improvement will start from the bottom level and will be having a fast accomplishment.
Identifying the potential areas, deciding the improvements, meeting the customer expectation and the business results are other fields in which the trainees concentrate.
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Step6 Control the new process by modifying systems and measuring processes to continue to achieve results. Use customer feedback and statistical tools. State what was done to improve performance. Document methods to recognize and solve future problems.
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Different types of Six Sigma Metrics: he two major types of six sigma metrics are : Classical measures of Six Sigma metrics and ypical Six Sigma Measures. Classical Six Sigma Measures: Under which the measurement of the quality of timeliness, accuracy, ease of doing business and cost are taken into consideration. Classical six sigma measurement gives important to improve the quality of the above said aspects for the organization's six sigma measurement framework. Typical Six Sigma Measures: other six sigma measures come under the typical six sigma measurement. other types of six sigma measurement are rolled-throughput-yield, DPMO, six sigma tailor and critical-to quality (CTQ).
CONCLUSION
The primary goal of Six Sigma is to improve customer satisfaction, and thereby profitability, by reducing and eliminating defects. Defects may be related to any aspect of customer satisfaction: high product quality, schedule adherence, cost minimization.
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A true Six Sigma organization produces not only excellent product but also maintains highly efficient production and administrative systems that work effectively with the company's other service processes. Thus the primary factor in the successful implementation of a six sigma project is to have the necessary resources, the support and leadership of top management.
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2009) BOOKS: Dedhia, N.S. (2005), Six Sigma Basics, Total Quality Management, page no. 567-574 Harry, M., and Crawford. D. (2005), Six Sigma The next generation, Machine Design, February Issue, page no. 126-132 Thawani, S. (2004), Six Sigma Strategy for organizational excellence, Total Quality Management, page no. 655-664 Lucas, J.M. (2002), The essential Six-Sigma, Quality Progress, January, Page no. 27-31